My apologies if this is a stupid question or one that has been asked hundreds of times already.
Until now I never really attempted to build any dioramas or vignettes, but I really want to give it a try at some point in the near future.
I recently found an amazing looking photo of a Leopard 2 sitting in a wintery birchwood with it’s entire front covered in camo netting and conifer branches:
I know this probably isn’t the best choice for a first serious attempt at a vignette, but I just love the look of the whole scene.
Even if I can’t pull of the entire scene, I at least want to try replicating the tank and a small patch of the frozen grass around it i nthe near future.
I’d really appreciate it if you guys could help me out with finding the materials I need for this project.
I already have a pretty good ide of what I’m going to use for the groundwork, but the rest is somewhat of a mystery for me.
What I need most are good looking conifer branches (pine, fir, spruce,…) that look good on a 1/35 model, as well as some material to replicate the tall grass and the ice crystals covering everything in the scene.
The birch trees are optional at this point, but any tips and ideas regarding those are more than welcome too.
Not using edible things is a good point. I suppose those materials would also change their look after a while, which isn’t really somehting I want to happen either.
I think I should clarify that I don’t live in the US, so store recommendations won’t be of much use to me unfortunately.
I’m more interested in brand or products you guys have had experience with so I can shop around for those locally and online.
I have not purchased from them yet, so, I don’t know how their customer service is. But, they have a lot of cool offerings, including snow. Big plus, they are your side of the pond too. Hope this helps.
Clemens, when i was looking for conifer branches a couple of years back, the only success was in the US, i could not find anything in the UK or Europe. I can’t recall the name of it, i’ll post the link tonight.
As far as the snow effects, a UK based company called Precision Ice and Snow has a good selection.
check out www.scenicexpress.com . They specialize in scenery materials for model railroads and have really good stuff. They have lots of choices for trees, both “kit” and premade, all kinds of ground cover materials and pretty much everything else. I’ve used their stuff a lot on the “monster in the basement”, and recommend them highly.
Ye, 35th. They do some nice fir tree kits as well, planning on getting a couple of those as they don’t seem to easy to build myself. Nice company to deal with.
Yeah, I’ve seen those kits. I might order one or two together with the pine branches. They have a tutorial video on how to make actual trees out of them and the end result looks stunning.
You will like DioDump. I ordered their 1/35 “North African Ruin” for my current project, and its quality is excellent. They recommended the resin version rather than the plaster, as it was more likely to survive overseas shipping. Prices are VERY reasonable, about $15 for the resin ruin, and with standard postage, the total was about $25. Took just two weeks to arrive from the Netherlands to the U.S.
For snow on vehicles I use hairspray ( semi gloss ) and artificial snow. Woodland Scenic
I took 1/ 4 of the snow , mixed it with glue , spread flat. dried and then broken so I have chunks of snow and ice. Some of these are tinted blue and green with wash.( Oil)
I mask off an area ( example wheel ) spray hair spray and dump on the artificial snow…wait…lightly tap off excess and viola a light puffy snow ball. Held together by hairspray and static electricity.
For packed on stuff I use white puddy, wash it light blue/ green( oil paint ) add chunks of artificial snow or any debris and then top with layers of artificial snow. Adding rocks, grass, mud stains, twig as I go.
For tank dusting ( or wind accumalation ) I use a custom Solveset mix in airbrush with a fan.
The only problem with this is that you can’t spray sealer on any of it. So It would be last step stuff like road dusting. Sealer will turn it grey and icy. You can’t even touch due to oils on your fingers. Shouldn’t be touching anyway…extremely delicate step in a build is snow.
The reason I say paint the packed stuff with a light blue wash and then top. The blue/green gives it depth and shine and the snow doesn’t get lost in the shadows and just looking like white mud or something. You won’t even really see the blue or green…it will be just a glow.
This method is great for snow banks.
And keep it semi glossy ( hence the hairspray…not to mention it’s long working time, it bubbles creating texture and general stickiness ) snow is wet and shiny.
I was also able to puff up the artificial snow even more by putting it into a paint mixer.
Good luck and happy snowing. Show pics. I wish I could but I don’t have snow ones here
